Hypatia reached up and let her fingers run up Valen's cheek and to his elegantly pointed ear before dropping her hand to her side, her eyes sad. "I need some time." She turned looking past the assembled people and hurried from the cavern.
Her movements were rapid, as if she feared being pursued. She'd meant it when she said she needed some time to herself. The events of the past few days threatened to overwhelm her and she would not let anyone see her weak. For too long she had been the strong one and old habits died hard.
It took her some time to find it, the spot was well hidden back in a stand of dead trees. The blasted and burnt skeleton of a massive tree hid the deep little hollow. Stepping down the small slope she saw a pool of clear water fed from a spring that welled up from between the curve of the roots of the tree. Grass grew and flowers bloomed on its banks. It was a jewel in the midst of destruction and she smiled for having found it.
Sliding down the steep slope to the narrow bank she nearly fell into the pool. It was deep and cold and she sat down on a mossy rock to think. Great tears welled up in her eyes for the loss of her dear friend and the soul deep ache of Valen's doubt.
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Valen started to follow Hypatia but Elrithradia held up one hand. "She needs time," The little nephilim looked up at him.
The Seer motioned Nathyrra to follow Hypatia, quietly commanding the drow woman to keep watch but not interfere with the cleric. Nathyrra silently slipped into the shadows and followed her friend.
Agathon likewise, quietly sent several of his paladins to keep a protective eye on the cleric. He carefully admonished them to stay well back and not invade her privacy but make sure she could think in peace, without fear of attack from any lingering undead or evil clerics.
Elrithradia smiled up at Valen, "See, her friends will watch over her."
"I should be watching over her," Valen insisted. He watched the corridor she had disappeared into, deeply troubled.
The little nephilim nodded sympathetically, "She is a potent force. She can take care of herself."
Valen grumbled but stayed put.
Elrithradia looked over the group carefully and then clapped her hands, "It's getting late in the day and this isn't such a bad place now that the snarly evil forces have been vanquished. Why don't we clean it up a bit and make it nice for the evening. We can start our return journeys tomorrow."
A couple of paladins whom had been exploring entered the main cavern with a group of timid slaves behind them. "We found these people in some locked rooms and released them," The ranking paladin reported.
Agathon looked them over and nodded, "Right. We'll need to get this place cleaned up and start some supper going. Everyone is probably hungry. Ruth, Zack, why don't you two go search for some better clothes for these people. We'll escort them back to Darlune in the morning."
The Seer also instructed her drow to help make the place comfortable. While they could vanish back into the Underdark she thought it might be better for them to forge an alliance if they could with the paladins of Darlune. While they began to tidy the place up and turn it into a large camp she spoke to Valen, asking him to relate what had happened after he'd been killed.
Talking to The Seer calmed Valen and he told her the whole tale, leaving nothing out, not even his growing infatuation and then falling in love with Hypatia. He spared not himself, baring all to The Seer, hoping she would have some wisdom she could impart that would help him reassure Hypatis.
Icarus stayed near Valen, listening shamelessly to the other tiefling. The Seer piqued his curiosity but he found his gaze time and again drawn to the feathery little nephilim. He tried not to get caught watching her.
Elrithradia got out her flute and began playing a frolicking tune and dancing around the people as they busied themselves with tasks to prepare the cavern for the night.
Agathon watched Elrithradia with a bemused smile, shaking his head. She was as innocent as a child and delightful as a spring day. Still there was the matter of Gabriel. He turned his attention to the paladin standing shamefaced before him.
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Hypatia wept for a bit. Deekin was gone. She had always been able to keep her friends safe but this time she had failed and little Deekin, her first friend, had paid the ultimate price for it. She sat sadly for a while, letting the sadness have her while she remembered her friend. She hoped Icarus would do Deekin justice.
After a while she wiped her eyes and decided to take a dip in the pool She was filthy with the stink of battle. First she cleaned her armor and clothing, hanging it to dry. Then thought for a moment before she consecrated the little hidden pool with it's scattering of wildflowers.
Disrobing she stepped into the pool. It was surprisingly deep and the water was cold! But it made her feel clean and alive. She scrubbed as best she could in the cold water. She swam for a bit then climbed out of the pool and sat once more on the narrow bank, catching the last rays of the sinking sun as they peaked through the branches. Rummaging through her pack she pulled out a short linen shift and put it on.
Finally she could put it off no more and her thoughts turned to Valen. Her naughty imagination reminding her of how beautiful he was, how much she enjoyed his touch and how much she enjoyed touching him. She shook her head, scolding herself.
Was this what compelled her mother to stay with her father, even when he beat her so badly she could no longer have children? That was to be avoided at all costs. She was not weak, she would not stay with someone who was abusive, no matter how pretty. Was she like her mother? No. Valen had not meant to hurt her. He never deliberately hurt her. This had been an accident. But…hadn't that been what her mother had told her all those years ago?
The words haunted her, "He's drunk. He doesn't know what he's doing. He doesn't mean it. It was an accident."
Hypatia shuddered. Valen was not like her father and she was not her mother. There was no comparison. Valen had doubted. He had reacted badly to that doubt but he had never meant to hurt her. Her father had meant to hurt her mother, even if only in a drunken rage.
In fact, she considered it from his perspective, he had been trying to make sure he never hurt her, even accidentally. He wanted to be a good man and he felt that part of him prevented him from being a good man. While her father had wallowed in his drunkenness Valen was trying to get rid of his inner demon. They were nothing alike.
The vision of Valen as a battle slave in the hells flashed before her eyes. That was what Valen was trying to avoid becoming ever again. That was his fear. That he would loose his humanity, fall back into that state and never escape it again.
She sighed sadly and finally asked herself a question she had avoided her whole life: Wasn't she constantly running away from her own past? Her father had been a drunken brute and her mother an enabling victim. She feared that there was a seed of violence inside of her that would burst out at some unknown time just like it did with her father. She had been too ashamed to let him see that part of her.
That Valen did not know this about her was her fault. If he knew, then he would also know that her love for him was true. That he doubted was her failure, not his. He had been courageous enough to face his fear, to look his inner demon in the face and do whatever he could to banish it. She had run from hers.
He didn't know his wish would shatter part of the bond. She hadn't known that would happen, how could he have?
She had needed time alone to think but now, for the first time in her life, she wished someone were with her. She wasn't quite ready to leave the little pool but she wished he were with her to share the hidden place.
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Nathyrra watched over Hypatia, staying back in the shadows, not intruding upon her grief. She also kept an eye on the paladins who had set up a perimeter of sorts a respectful distance away from the copse of dead trees that hid the little pool with its narrow grassy banks.
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Suddenly the sound of something with large wings came from the skylight. Everyone in the cavern dropped into battle ready stances. A winged celestial carrying a woman dropped down, settling to the floor.
Elrithradia stopped playing her flute and stopped dancing. Icarus stepped between the nephilim and the intruder.
The winged creature gently set Cimmera on the floor. He looked at the gathered people carefully, paying special attention to Icarus and the drow. Satisfied he turned to Cimmera, "They are good, my love. Although the winged fiend is just recently turned good. A most curious thing."
"What's curious," I spoke before I could consider the wisdom of my words, "Is that you slept for eons at the gates of Cania and not one single devil ended your existence. The enmity between Angels and Devils goes back even farther than the blood wars."
Angelous frowned, "Does that offend you, fiend?"
"Offend?" I was surprised, "Why would that offend me? It's just curious."
"Are you implying something unsavory?" Angelous's grip tightened on his sword.
"You just can't help yourself, can you?" Elrithradia fluttered around Icarus.
"What?" I demanded, "It's a reasonable question."
"Indeed it is," Elrithradia assured him. "But he is good. I can tell."
"You're questioning my credentials?" Angelous was too surprised to be offended.
Elrithradia giggled, then she spoke, "Given where Icarus is from and the way he's been treated, it is survival for him to question everything and trust no one without them earning it."
Angelous thought it over then agreed, relaxing. "That is a dark way to live."
I scowled at the little celestial born. She didn't need to be blabbing all about me to everyone that walked by.
"High Priestess and Angelous," Agathon greeted them. Everyone relaxed when the paladin greeted the pair.
Having just heard Valen's tale The Seer rose and approached them. "You must be Cimmera," She bowed to the High Priestess. "We are in your debt also."
Cimmera, taking note of Valen standing just behind the beautiful drow priestess curtseyed gracefully to the woman. "I'm not Hypatia," She hastily explained.
The Seer smiled, "You are her twin sister, Cimmera, if I'm not mistaken."
Cimmera nodded, returning The Seer's smile. "And you must be The Seer. Tell me, did Imloth follow my sister's advice."
Imloth stepped forward, blushing slightly, "Indeed I did, although I don't feel that it is appropriate for others to comment upon."
Cimmera bowed slightly, "My apologies. Hypatia told me precious little about you and my curiosity runs away with me." She looked around, "Where is my sister?"
Valen answered, "She needed some time to herself."
Cimmera frowned taking in his downcast countinence, "That's…odd." Looking around again, "So Deekin is with her?"
"Deekin is dead," Valen told her.
"Oh!" Cimmera put one hand over her mouth, her eyes suddenly sad. "So it finally happened." It was more of a statement than a question.
Frowning Valen asked, "What?"
"Hypatia has always kept those she cares about, or feels are under her protection safe. I knew the day would come when even she couldn't save someone. It was bound to happen. But," she looked around again, "Why are you not with her, Valen?"
"She is not unprotected," The Seer spoke, anticipating Cimmera's next question. "I sent Nathyrra to watch over her but not intrude."
Agathon, who had been listening also hurried to reassure the high priestess, "I also sent several paladins to protect her, should the need arise."
"Ah," Cimmera smiled, although she gave Valen a questioning look. "Hypatia mentioned Nathyrra. She likes her very much."
While Cimmera and The Seer had been speaking, Elrithradia had carefully approached Angelous much like a kitten approaching a larger cat. She circled around him and he turned to keep her in his sight. She hopped into the air, hovering, her wings weaving an intricate pattern and then she flitted around, trying to get a good look at all sides of him. Angelous turned to keep her in his sight, becoming distracted from Cimmera.
Icarus, annoyed by the presence of two celestial creatures, and by the attention the nephillim was paying the planetar, began to skulk around the edges of the cavern. He had Deakin's book and wrote in it, but he also moved from shadowed nook to dark corner frequently.
Angelous now tried to keep both of them in his line of sight. The tiefling appeared to be writing things down and stalking the shadows. The nephilim was distracting.
"But I didn't earn it!" Gabriel's voice rose over the other sounds in the cavern.
Agathon considered his wayward paladin for some minutes.
Before he could say anything Elrithradia, her attention caught by Gabriel's loud voice fluttered over and settled right before them. "You can ask her when she returns but I suspect she will tell you the same thing I'm about to tell you." She fixed Gabriel and Agathon both with a stern eye, "Her forgiveness really can't be earned. No one's can. It is grace. She chose to forgive you Gabriel."
"Because you left her no choice!" Gabriel shouted, wincing when the nephilim flinched back. All around the cavern warriors stepped forward, waiting to intervene on behalf of the little celestial born if necessary. Icarus, Valen, Imloth, Even Angelous found himself ready to intervene. Instantly contrite, Gabrial said, "I'm sorry."
"That is not true," Elrithradia told him gently. "Hypatia chose to forgive. She did not have to."
"But the wound, her blindness," Gabriel protested in a much more quiet voice.
"Would have been healed and faded like all others." Elrithradia told him. "No, she chose to forgive because she did not wish to become what she hated. It had nothing to do with you and so you could not have earned it. She chose to take the power of her life away from those who had abused her. That was her choice. That is how forgiveness and grace work."
"But what can I do?" Gabriel asked, desperate to earn his rightful place with Agathon and the other paladins but unsure how to go about it.
"Ask her," Elrithradia smiled up at him. "But I expect she will tell you to show others the forgiveness you have been shown."
"Very well done, little one," Angelous smiled.
Elrithradia clapped her hands and got her flute out once again. She played a jaunty tune and danced and fluttered around the cavern. Her tune was as magical as it was lovely and she cleansed the lingering taint of unholiness and evil out of the cavern.
Valen looked once more at the corridor through which Hypatia had left then began to tend to his armor, taking off his breastplate and polishing it before polishing his flail. Once done with that chore he helped with setting up their strange camp.
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The sun finally set and with the warmth of the day giving way to the chill of the evening, Hypatia got her priestess robe out of her pack to put on. Or she would have but upon pulling the garment out she discovered that her sister had swapped her sturdy homespun robe for something a bit more fashionable. Rolling her eyes she put the fitted robe in Mystrian blue on along with the matching shoes and began to pack up to head back.
Nathyrra was glad to see it for she had been about to make her presence known to suggest the cleric return to the relative safety of the cavern as dusk fell.
"What am I going to do with you Enserric?" Hypatia asked the sword as she slung her pack on her shoulders and began to climb out of the little hollow.
"My dear lady, whatever you do, don't put me back in some dusty chest. Anything but that."
"You are an evil sword, Enserric," she felt compelled to remind him. "I am a cleric of good."
Nathyrra fell in beside her when she gained the top of the hill.
"Hello Nathyrra," Hypatia greeted her. "I'm so pleased to see you again."
"And I you, Hypatia," Nathyrra greeted her in return.
"I'm aware that I'm an evil sword," Enserric huffed. "But that doesn't mean I deserve a life of boredom. I'm a fine weapon and you have to admit I think quickly on my…er…your feet. I terrified those priests you were fighting."
Hypatia smiled, "That is true, Enserric. Let me think about it for a bit."
Enserric fell silent and she sheathed him.
"Why," Nathyrra asked while they walked, the paladins falling in behind them, "Did you chose Valen and not me to accompany you in the Underdark?"
Hypatia looked stricken but she answered honestly, "Because I don't think I could have kept you alive. You are my friend and I watched you die once to Halaster. If I had not had a charge left on my rod of resurrection I would have not been able to bring you back. I couldn't get you killed. Valen, when I looked at him I knew he'd be tougher, he could withstand more punishment and I thought I'd have a better chance of keeping him alive."
"And you fell in love with him," Nathyrra thought over the cleric's words. She was a drow warrior. She had once been a Red Sister. She wasn't sure if she was insulted by Hypatia's assessment or not.
Hypatia blushed, "That was…unexpected."
Nathyrra led them down through the abandoned and now empty crypt to the tunnels and then to the cavern where tents had been pitched and fires had cook pots over them. Elrithradia was just finishing up a song she'd been playing on her flute and she fluttered behind the group when they entered the cavern.
"Cimmera!" Hypatia was glad to see her sister. She ran over to her and threw her arms around her, barely swallowing a sob, "I lost Deekin."
"No," Gabriel stated, "I threw him into danger."
Cimmera patted Hypatia's back, "I'm so sorry dear."
Hypatia turned to Gabriel and rolled her eyes. "I heard him ask you to throw him, Gabriel. You didn't do anything wrong. He died a hero. He always wanted to be a hero."
"And I heard that slimy priest, Farquhar, try to confuse Valen," Gabriel told her.
Hypatia's eyes flew wide and she searched for Valen, making eye contact.
"Yes, about that," Cimmera cut in. "What is going on with you two?"
"Farquhar was a fool and I should have known," Hypatia murmered making her way over to where Valen stood watching her uncertainly. Reaching up she placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled him down into a kiss.
Valen's arms wrapped around her and he pulled her to him, returning her kiss with fervor. "Tia," He said when the need to breath finally forced them to end the kiss, "I am sorry." He leaned his forehead against hers, holding her up to him, her feet barely touching the floor.
"It is I who am sorry, my love," She reassured him. "You face your past. I have run from mine. But no more. I love you and if I had not been so ashamed of my past that evil fool wouldn't have had a chance to manipulate you."
Valen laughed with relief. "And the bond?"
"Has regenerated and stronger than before." Hypatia kissed him again.
"Get a room you two," Cimmera admonished them also laughing.
"That is what forgiveness does," Elrithradia pontificated primly.
"Hmmm, about that," Agathon felt compelled to address the issue with Gabriel before Hypatia and Valen became even more amorous in full view of everyone in the cavern. "While I'm reluctant to interrupt…"
"A clear lie," Angelous said, hiding a smirk behind Cimmera's reddish gold hair as he raised a lock to his face.
Agathon paused and shot the angelic being a slight frown. "There is still the matter of Gabriel to be dealt with."
"I forgave him," Hypatia said absently, running her hands over Valen's broad chest. Looking at him with wonder and love.
Agathon cleared his throat, "He claims he did not earn your forgiveness."
Both Valen and Hypatia growled low in their throats and turned to Agathon. Valen stood protectively over her, watching her adoringly. The way she had looked at him humbled him.
"That's not how it works," Hypatia snapped. Then she gathered herself and got her temper under control. "Forgiveness is never owed so it cannot be earned. It must be given, freely, or not at all."
Both pleased and sorry that he had managed to distract the two from each other, Agathon pressed on doggedly. "Gabriel insists that you were coerced into giving him your forgiveness by the nephilim."
Hypatia rolled her eyes, "Agathon you've known me almost since I was an acolyte. Do you really think even the gods could coerce me into doing something I didn't want to do?"
Icarus stepped out of the shadows, "I heard her challenge the celestial born and the wisdom of the gods themselves when she was told she must forgive. I do believe she would have challenged the very gods without hesitation."
Agathon stared at Hypatia, shocked.
"It's true," Gabriel spoke quietly from where he stood, slightly back from Agathon. "She did challenge the wisdom of the gods and Elrithradia."
"And somehow you managed to leave that out of your narrative, Gabriel." Agathon waited to see what would be said next.
"It is—unthinkable," Gabriel mumbled.
Hypatia shook her head, "Perhaps that is the problem Gabriel. You find too many things unthinkable. I forgive you and in forgiving you I became stronger. I became a better person than I was. Any narrow minded fool can judge people, and harshly. If you really want to better yourself, then show the same forgiveness to others that I showed you."
"I told you so," Elrithradia sang out then laughed.
"And one other thing," Hypatia snapped, "Both of you can stop being so damn nosey about my private life. It's none of your business."
Cimmera burst out laughing at the nonplussed expressions on both Agathon and Gabriel's faces.
Angelous grinned, moving behind Cimmera and wrapping his arms around her. To the paladins he said, "She's quite right about that. Well she's actually right about all of it, but especially that."
I hadn't missed the way the pretty looked at the blood. Not with lust, at least not exclusively, but like she saw his very soul and she loved him all the more. A bittersweet jealously ripped through me. I did not know how it was possible for a blood to be loved so fully. I did not trust it and at the same time I craved being loved like that. I stepped out of the shadows, "While that may be true, those two," I pointed to the blood and the pretty, "Need to find a private sleeping chamber well away from here." I was not going to be up all night listening to their lovemaking. It was bad enough watching them together when they weren't naked.
"That is an excellent idea," Angelous looked down at Cimmera. "I should very much like to take you to Elysium my love. It is a beautiful and safe place where we could live."
"Not for too long," Elrithradia spoke quietly.
Angelous frowned, "And why not, little one?"
The nephilim gave him a sad little smile, "Because humans from the prime material plane begin to forget things the longer they stay in Elysium. It's what happened to my father."
The planetar's frown deepened, "Then we shall have to make our home on another celestial plane."
I rolled my eyes and scoffed, "House hunting on the outer planes. That's exciting."
"Oh!" Hypatia tore her eyes away from Valen and turned to Icarus. "That's brilliant!"
Angelous's expression went from annoyed to smug. "Of course it is."
"Not that," Hypatia said. She unbuckled her sword and held it out to Icarus. "I owe you 500 gold coins still, Icarus. Or you can have my sword."
I scowled. This was some trick to cheat me. But she had given me a chance. Saved my life and my foot. Slowly I approached her and took the sword, stepping back and pulling it from its sheath.
"My dear lady," Enserric exclaimed, "This is a brilliant solution."
I stared, first at the sword then at the pretty. "You're giving me your intelligent sword?" This weapon was worth more jink then I would see in a lifetime.
"I have to warn you, Icarus," She said, "Enserric is an evil sword."
I hesitated. I didn't want to be evil any more. Would wielding an evil sword sway me to return to my evil ways? I was on the verge of a new life, a good life.
"Oh the sword is evil but I'm not," Enserric stated with a bit of annoyance.
I smiled, my fangs showing. I could not turn down this sword. The sword was a tool, nothing more. But the intelligence inside of it was witty and caustic and I found I liked him. "I accept, Lady Hypatia," I swung the sword in a few practice swings, getting a feel for the balance and heft of it. It was a masterfully crafted weapon, it was extraordinary. This sword was so heavily enchanted I could feel the buzz of magic in the hilt and flowing through the blade as I held it.
"What of you, my lady?" I asked, suddenly realizing she had no other weapon.
Hypatia looked around mournfully, "I suppose it's too much to ask that they found my katana in all this mess?"
Imloth stepped forward holding a sheathed katana, "We found one of them, Lady Hypatia. In the lower levels where some of the priesthood tried to flee."
Hypatia accepted the katana and pulled it from its sheath. It was her Kaga-To. "Thank you," She buckled the katana around her narrow waist.
"Now that that's all settled," Elrithradia spoke, her voice carrying a hint of command. "We should have supper before it gets cold. We can talk later."
"We should really be getting…" Agathon began but the nephilim fixed him with a stern look.
"Tomorrow is soon enough for everyone to be on their way." She insisted, fixing everyone with that same look.
The Seer smiled gently. "Commander Agathon, perhaps we could discuss an alliance while we dine?"
Hypatia nudged Agathon by observing, "Having good drow, followers of Eliastraee under Darlune would prevent what happened to Waterdeep from happening here."
Angelous nodded, running his fingers through Cimmera's hair, endlessly fascinated by the silky golden strands. "The priestess is quite correct. It would also be of benefit to have a hidden and nearby source of allies should the need become dire."
"That works both ways," I snapped. I wasn't going to stand by and watch good people get taken advantage of because of bigotry. "If they have need of you, you would have to honor their call." Paladins. Couldn't trust them, now that I was good I couldn't just run them through.
Suddenly I was the subject of The Seer's intense gaze. I held absolutely still. It was like she could see right through me. She saw everything. My soul was laid bare before her and I shuddered.
"Are you joining us, then?" The Seer asked gently.
I tried to be nonchalant, "For a bit."